For this episode of Kickback we are delighted to welcome Kevin E. Davis, Beller Family Professor of Business Law at NYU. (https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.overview&personid=22193). The interview covers Kevin’s new book Between Impunity and imperialism, the challenges of fighting and deterring transnational bribery and the return of stolen assets.

The interview begins with a short overview on Kevin’s academic background and how he became interested in the law and economic development.

Then the two discuss Kevin’s book which through its title expresses Kevin’s ambivalence about the efforts to fight transnational bribery. On the one hand there is wide consensus that impunity in form of letting corrupt actors go unpunished is condemnable, on the other hand, Kevin criticizes the legal imperialism reflected in some of the approaches adopted to fight transnational corruption.

The two discuss alternatives to the current approaches, the risk of “derisking” and the state of empirical evidence on these subjects.

One more narrow point focuses on whom to punish once transnational bribery has been detected. Should the contract be nullified? Should the company be punished or is a more individualized punishment the way to go? Here the discussion also zooms in on the potential sovereignty issues related to cross-border investigations. Finally, the two chime in on current debates on where the returned stolen assets should be directed to.

Kevin’s new book Between Impunity and Imperialism The Regulation of Transnational Bribery is available here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/between-impunity-and-imperialism-9780190070809?cc=us&lang=en&